Hoffman: Big money up for grabs on rodeo circuit

Tuesday

Jul 25, 2017 at 5:48 PM

Brett Hoffman

During the past weekend on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit, competitors had the opportunity to earn more money toward qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas than any other weekend of the year.

That’s mainly because the winners of the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo in Salt Lake City offered a highly impressive $1 million purse and each event winner received a $50,000 check.

The sport’s elite competed in an array of other higher paying competitions such as the new K-Days Rodeo in Edmonton, Alberta, which offered a purse of almost a half of a million dollars.

Both the Salt Lake City and Edmonton rodeos were a cash cow for three-time world tie-down roping champion Tuf Cooper, a native of Childress who lives in Weatherford. After finishing second in a preliminary round and then winning the tie-down roping during the final round on Monday night, Cooper’s total earnings in the Salt Lake City rodeo were $52,400. Cooper also pocketed $9,616 after tying for first in tie-down roping at the Edmonton rodeo.

If that wasn’t enough, Cooper also earned small checks for finishing in the money at traditional PRCA Utah summer rodeos in Spanish Fork (where he earned $1,321) and in Ogden ($2,782).

After all that, Cooper is ranked No. 1 in both the PRCA’s world all-around tie-down roping world title races.

Another competitor who cashed in at the Salt Lake Rodeo was barrel racer Hailey Kinsel who won and earned $53,200.

Kinsel first commanded respect earlier this year when she won the barrel racing in February’s RFD-TVs The American at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, earning $433,333. However, the American earnings do not count toward earning a National Finals berth in any event.

Kinsel also grabbed attention in June when she won the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association barrel racing title at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo. She represented Texas A&M.

Kinsel, a rising star on the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association circuit, is among three competitors who earned bigger first place checks at The American and then won a title at the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games Rodeo in Salt Lake City. Saddle bronc rider Cody DeMoss earned $433,333 after winning The American and $51,600 after winning the Days of ’47 rodeo. Bull rider Sage Kimzey earned $433,333 after winning The American and $52,667 after winning the Salt Lake City rodeo.

Kimzey, a three-time, PRCA champion, is having a highly successful year. One July 16, he earned a $100,000 check for winning at the Calgary Stampede. But like The American, the earnings in men’s events at the Calgary rodeo do not count in the PRCA world standings.

But the $52,667 that Kimzey earned in Salt Lake counted in the PRCA standings. Kimzey also won the Edmonton rodeo and the $12,661 he earned in Alberta counted in the PRCA standings.

After winning in Salt Lake City and Edmonton, Kimzey is ranked No. 1 in the PRCA’s 2017 bull riding standings. He is attempting to win a fourth consecutive title.

At the Salt Lake Rodeo, Kimzey won with a score of 90 aboard a bull named Komatsu’s War Party, owned by the Diamond G Rodeo Co. Other competitors who earned a coveted $50,000 final round winner’s check at the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games and Rodeo were bareback rider Wyatt Denny, steer wrestler Ryle Smith, team ropers Jr. Dees and Tyler McKnight.

Cutting horse update

On the National Cutting Horse Association circuit, Grant Setnicka of Grandview and Ichis My Choice, a 5-year-old mare, won the NCHA Summer Spectacular Classic/Challenge title on Saturday, July 22, after turning in a whopping finals score of 229, six points higher than second-place finisher Beau Galyean and Metallic Rebel. The victory earned the mare’s owners, the J Five Horse Ranch of Weatherford, the $20,484 first prize at Fort Worth’s Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum.

PBR update

Australian Lachlan Richardson won the Professional Bull Riders Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour show Wednesday, July 19, at California Rodeo Salinas in Salinas, Calif. Richardson began the night with an 87.5-point first round ride on a bovine named Smoothie (Julio Moreno/Dallas Schott), then capped off the victory by riding Captain Jack (Julio Moreno/Dallas Schott) for 88.5 points in the championship round. The Australian earned 80 world points, moving him up 16 spots from No. 61 in the world standings to No. 45, and $10,610 for the victory.

Brett Hoffman, a Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame member, has reported on rodeos for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for more than three decades. Email him at bchoffman777@earthlink.net.

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